Rajan Singh

Founder

HabitStrong

In this age of unending busyness, distractions, and social media addictions, we help you build a life of calm productivity and focus, so you can succeed without burnout, late night, and long hours. 

We don't have any shortcuts or magical remedies. Instead, in our online programs, we give you a methodical, step-by-step approach to solve the problems of productivity, digital addictions, lack of focus, anxiety, etc.

ConceptOwl

We offer science and math learning programs for small-town students. 

We later transitioned to HabitStrong, to offer habit-building programs.

CourseBrew

An innovative online learning platform providing interactive video based learning.

Founder and CEO

New Silk Route Private Equity

Investment professional at New Silk Route, a USD 1.4 billion private equity fund focused on growth stage companies in Asia. 

Focused on healthcare and infrastructure, and was a key member of the team dedicated to building a large medical device company focused on emerging markets. 

Working as an investment professional, realized that lemmings are unfairly accused of behaving like investors.

Vice President

McKinsey & Company

Advised insurance, pharma, biotech, and banking companies. Areas of work include screening of  acquisition targets, launch of new businesses, cost rationalization, private equity due diligence, valuation, and corporate finance.

Ended up as a slave to PowerPoint, without hope of liberation in this lifetime

Consultant

Indian Police Service (IPS)

Commissioner of Police, Trivandrum City, and other senior positions in Kerala Police. Led 3,500 strong police force in Trivandrum (Kerala's Capital).  Extensive experience in managing and motivating large workforce, handling civil disturbances and conflicts, traffic management, crime control, and police modernization.

Inevitably I started taking life too seriously (what with all the parades, pompous ceremony, and frantic phone calls). So decided to bring some sanity back into life and go do an MBA

Police Commissioner

In summary, I am tempted to say something profound such as: "Visionary leader with XX years experience of saving humanity". But I will spare you the agony... 

The truth is that after many detours and experiments in life, I find myself an entrepreneur! 

Email: rajan.singh@habitstrong.in

We conduct online bootcamps to build life-changing habits that help inculcate discipline, focus, mindfulness, and a no-compromise mindset.

Currently, our programs cover digital deaddiction, building a mindful morning routine, deep work, flow, and focused learning. 

There is a lot of theory out there in videos and books, but often, it makes no impact. We make actual behavior change happen through a scientific, no-nonsense approach, mostly based on my personal life experiences.

You could think of us as a gym for habit-building.

I am wasting a lot of my time these days. But it all started quite innocently, with the best of intentions. 😊 

A few months ago, I fell in love with technology and coding. And I rationalized that I will build a tech company; I still do. 

But a few weeks ago, my friend Vinod Thomas recommended Anil Ananthaswamy's book "Why Machines Learn." And when I started reading it, old memories of my electrical engineering and math courses at IIT came flooding. 

In college, I barely tolerated math. But now, I started feeling a love and nostalgia I have never felt for anything. 

So I started MIT's Gilbert Strang's linear algebra course on MIT Open Course Ware (it is beyond amazing). Then I remembered my 2nd year course on signals and systems. And so I started a course on Fourier transforms. 

Learning these ideas from math and electrical engineering is so much fun that I decided to dabble in robotics, and even ordered a new computer just for that (awaiting Amazon delivery 😇 ). 

I know that most of this will probably deliver zero benefit for my career. But what the heck! If I can indulge myself a little and push my old brain to think again, I am ok wasting some time. 

After all, if the goal of life is to experience the journey, isn't the journey itself the goal? 

***
I run HabitStrong, which offers programs for calm productivity, digital de-addiction, and building focus: www.habitstrong.com

Our colleges in India, including IITs, do an amazing job of killing any curiosity or excitement the student may have. 

When I joined my electrical engineering BTech, I was really excited. There was so much to learn: from communications and signal processing, to semiconductors and computers! 

But when our electrical engineering courses started, the first thing they did was to remove any connection with the real world. 

In the very first course on communication, the instructor started by saying, "A signal is nothing but a function." And the rest of the course was pure mathematics. The same thing was repeated course after course, be it control systems, radars, or whatever. 

However, even that wasn't the biggest problem; it was the way the teachers taught. 

70-80% of the professors would just fill the blackboard with equations, while talking in a deathly monotone. Where was the curiosity? Where was the energy? 

In fact, I did not even realize what we were missing until I saw videos of good teachers on the internet. I saw how even simple matrix multiplication can be a joy to learn, when the professor treats it like an adventure. 

I am not writing this to pin all the blame on the teachers. If I did not learn well, 99% of it is on me. But the teachers were supposed to help. And 70-80% did not. Some teachers were excellent, but they were a small minority.   

However, there is a silver lining now, especially for working professionals like us. 

In the age of internet, cheap books, and LLMs, we can learn almost anything on our own. Finally, we don't have to wait for others to get better. 

If we don't learn now, it is 100% on us. Now I can't even blame my college professors. 😊 

***
I run HabitStrong, which offers programs for calm productivity, digital de-addiction, and building focus: www.habitstrong.com

When I was starting my post-MBA job search, I had two options: start at the bottom of the corporate pyramid, or look for CXO roles in India. 

Logically, the latter made more sense. And many IPS and IAS had quit to take up CEO/CXO roles in infrastructure companies, where execution skills are highly valued. 

But I was too reluctant and lazy to go looking for jobs. So I joined McKinsey through campus placement. And I paid for it dearly, every single day. 

After having headed a 3,000-people organisation, I was now making PowerPoint slides and executive summaries. And initially, when I sent my slides to my manager, they would come back butchered in red-ink, with feedback and edits. 

I used to think of myself as a reasonably competent person. But was I? I couldn't even make decent PowerPoint slides despite so much life experience! 

But like all my colleagues, I gradually got better. And in retrospect, what I learned in those very difficult days, I could not have learned any other way -- certainly not without that brutal feedback, repeated practice, and refinement. 

I now realize that I wasn't completely stupid; it is just that policing was a different skill from consulting. Different games, different rules. 

Today, life has come full circle: as I advise companies transform their productivity, I am playing the consultant role again. And all my past experiences with policing, investing, and startups come very handy. 

When you are going through a difficult phase in life, it may feel like a total waste. But I can assure you, it will teach you what can't be learned any other way. 

Because the hardest lessons in life are also sometimes the most valuable. 

***
I run HabitStrong, which offers programs for calm productivity, digital de-addiction, and building focus: www.habitstrong.com

The day before, I was sitting with a friend visiting Trivandrum, whose kids have both graduated from MIT and are now figuring out their next career move. 

And while I was still marvelling at how well his kids have done, he said, "The elder one is now having panic attacks." 

And given how rife anxiety is among the kids of my friends, friend-of-friends, and family, it can't be all just a coincidence. In that case, what's going on? It certainly wasn't like this when we graduated from college. 

Today's generation is WAY more connected, better informed, and up to speed than we ever were. Then why are they not able to cope better? Or maybe, could that hyper-connectivity itself be the problem? 

My guess is that once upon a time, you felt like you were falling behind if your classmate built a $100 million startup. And of course, that was stupid. But now, anybody in the world doing that makes you feel 'left behind,' which is hyper-stupid. 

Mentally, we are living in this fast lane where everybody is outcompeting each other, time is running out, and no achievement is ever enough. Because someone will always achieve more than you. 

The answer isn't to step on the gas, but to slow down. Step out of that fake fast lane that is only in our minds. Reconnect with reality. Meet real people. Go out and play in mud and grass. And stop trying to 'win, win, win.' Sometimes, just be. 

The point of listening to music is not to reach the end of the song as fast as possible, but to experience it. 

Life is like that music. Sometimes, it is good to just listen. 

***
I run HabitStrong, which offers programs for calm productivity and digital de-addiction: www.habitstrong.com

When I recently decided to learn from scratch and build a tech company, a colleague said: "Won't we be behind those who have been doing tech for 30 years?"

It is as if life is some kind of a race, with whole of humanity desperately running in a single lane. And those ahead will always have a headstart, while those behind will keep trailing.

This mental model is completely nonsensical, and yet, it holds back countless people with talent and ability. 

I bet that lots of folks wake up every morning hating their career or life choices, but they do nothing about it. Why? "Because how will we compete with those already ahead of us?"

I can't speak for everyone but here is how I think about this. 

Life is not a race, and MOST certainly, not a linear one. 

In highly non-linear systems, past doesn't foretell the future. You have 20-year olds Nobel laureates who do nothing spectacular rest of their lives. And many people flourish in their 60s or 70s. 

The reality is that opportunities are all around us, and we discover them randomly. No superpower is sitting above us, handing out these opportunities in the order of some All India Rank, IQ points, or any rank order. 

And as far as headstart goes, if you have focus and intensity, you can learn more in 2 years than many do in 20 years. But even more importantly, life isn't about getting anywhere; it is about experiencing things. 

I am not saying, be reckless or throw away your jobs. However, if the only thing holding you back is 'somebody has a headstart', you are probably worried that they will get to the finish line before you. 

But what if life is not a race but a trek; a chance to smell the flowers, climb some hills, maybe suffer some bruises? What if there was never any finish line? 

***
I run HabitStrong, which offers programs for calm productivity, digital de-addiction, and building focus: www.habitstrong.com

During my undergrad courses, whenever I first saw the dense math and equations, it felt pretty intimidating. But a month later, the same equations often became straightforward. 

Similarly, before I got into policing, criminal laws and procedures felt totally alien. But with just a few months of exposure, it all felt logical; even mundane. 

And I repeatedly had the same epiphany in my startup journey: everything feels hard, until it doesn't. 

We often shy away from pursuing our goals because we find the path scary. And we assume that doing those things is hard; maybe, even too hard. 

But most of the time, things are not hard; they are just unfamiliar. And all it takes is a few weeks or months of exposure. 

The next time something scares you, remember this saying from a calculus book: what one fool can do, another can. 

***
I run HabitStrong, which offers programs for calm productivity, digital de-addiction, and building focus: www.habitstrong.com

Reading 'one book a day' or extreme reading goals like that are dumb. 

Because when you convert the act of reading into a race against time, it becomes another useless metric. 

The true value of reading does not come from the number of pages or books you finish, but how it changes your mental models, beliefs, or understanding of the world. 

And whenever I am learning something, my best learning happens not when I am cruising, but when I get stuck. That is when some dots in my mind are failing to connect. 

And often, the thing that helps the most is pausing, pondering, and giving myself the time to connect those dots. If it is a quant subject, you might even put your pen to paper and do some problem-solving. 

That is when the dots connect, and your mental models update. And there is no learning experience better than that. But sadly, when chasing a speed-reading metric, you deny yourself the opportunity to connect the dots. 

Just to be clear, I am not suggesting that we need to stop at everything we don't fully understand. But it should not be because we are rushing to meet some stupid goal like 'read X books a week.' 

We are already chasing too many useless metrics. Let us not convert learning, the most delightful experience available to the human mind, into another bullshit numbers game. 

***
I run HabitStrong, which offers programs for calm productivity, digital de-addiction, and building focus: www.habitstrong.com

The older I get, the more I feel like I am in college. Outside of work, most of my time now goes for learning all kinds of things; some useful, and some a total waste (but fun). 

However, the idea of 'learning' has a branding problem. We make it sound like an antibiotic, a bitter pill you have to swallow because it is 'good for you.' Who wakes up thinking, "I wish I could take some Amoxicillin tablets today?"

Who wants to hear another sermon asking you to learn X because it is 'good for you?' 

I am saying, forget all that for a moment. Forget that learning is useful, or a necessity in a fast-changing world. Stop looking at it like an antibiotic. 

Instead, ask yourself: what is the most fun way to spend your free time? What can give you the best kick and joy? 

And I challenge you: once you find things to learn that bend your mind and excite your imagination, Netflix and Instagram will stand no chance. 

Don't start by trying to learn stuff you hate, even if it is useful. instead, just pick things to learn for the dopamine hit; to hear that click in your head when something connects. 

There is no better way to live life than marinating in that joy of learning. And once you discover the joy, you will never graduate from college. 

But isn't that what we all secretly want? 

***
I run HabitStrong, which offers programs for calm productivity and digital de-addiction: www.habitstrong.com

Tomorrow, we do not have to be the same person as we were yesterday. 

We can make different choices. We can put down the mental baggage of the past. We can stop waiting for the perfect time, and start acting.

And for that, New Year's is a good day. But so is every other day. Whatever works for you, use it. 

The seed of any change is always the same: you, not your calendar. You just have to start watering that seed. 

And if New Year reminds you to start that watering, that's good too. But don't stop. That is what really counts, not the start date. 

Because it takes time. Everything takes time. That's what makes life worthwhile. 

***
I run HabitStrong, which offers programs for calm productivity, digital de-addiction, and building focus: www.habitstrong.com

"2026 will be all about agentic AI." Yeah sure. Just as automotive technology will be all about screwdrivers. 

But seriously, it is not that agentic AI isn't incredibly powerful. It is. However, we want to stick agentic AI onto EVERYTHING, and hope that the problem gets solved. And that is a trap. 

In any situation, the best tool is rarely the biggest one, but the one that gets the job done most effectively, with least fuss and cost. That is why armies don't just have artillery guns; most of the time, a simple rifle is all that is needed. 

So when people declare agentic AI to be THE answer for all problems, they are falling for the 'tool-first' trap. 

And unless we go from this 'tool-first' mindset to a 'problem-first' one, 2026 will be a year of AI disappointments, collective chest-beating, and bemoaning about how much 'agentic AI is overhyped.' 

Which will be a pity because these AI tools, including agentic tools, ARE incredibly powerful. 

What we need in the mix is the same-old problem-solving skills and critical thinking. In some sense, nothing has really changed. 

It is just that our toolbox now has one more screwdriver, albeit a very big and shiny one. 

***
I run HabitStrong, which offers programs for calm productivity, digital de-addiction, and building focus: www.habitstrong.com

Rama Ramakrishnan Thank you! Would love to go through it.

Professor of the Practice at MIT Sloan School of Management

Happy to share that the Spring 2024 version of my "Hands-On Deep Learning" class is now up on MIT OpenCourseWare (MIT OCW). All the course materials - videos, lecture decks etc. - are freely downloadable.

The course was designed to be "light on math, heavy on intuition". If you have been curious about Deep Learning, please check it out.

Ehsan Ali 🚀

Careerly360

Who do I help?

Senior IT professionals, Managers and Leaders who are feeling UNDERVALUED, UNFULFILLED or INSECURE.

You want to overcome one or more of these challenges:
① You've hit your income ceiling
② You get ignored for promotions
③ You do not feel respected at work
④ You're in the same job for many years
⑤ You’re not growing despite changing jobs
⑥ You're performing roles below your capability
⑦ You get good, but not outstanding performance review
⑧ You’ve lost job and facing challenges in landing the right role  
⑨ You don't feel inspired by your work, you do it just to pay bills

Book a 10-minute discovery call with me to find out IF and HOW I can help you -  https://calendly.com/coachehsan/discovery

Certified Master Career Coach

Empowering Indian Expats Podcast

Australia's 1st Business & Career podcast featuring inspiring stories of Indian Expats who either successfully transitioned into entrepreneurship or excelled in their careers beyond the perceived limitations and ceiling

Podcast Host & Producer

TCS Australia

	Led multiple high-profile client engagements (Commonwealth Bank, Colonial First State, CommInsure, Westpac, St George) and generated over $50 million.

	Became an expert in building zero-to-10-million-dollar revenue in 24 months flat.

	Built and led large global delivery teams from zero to up to 150.

	Led delivery teams across multiple service lines – Software Development, Service Delivery, Proprietary and Third-party software implementation & integration, Process Optimisation, Legacy Systems Modernisation, Regulatory Compliance, CRM, Marketing…

Enterprise Account Manager

HCL Australia

	Led transition of a large application portfolio – 108 Enterprise Systems - across all divisions of Commonwealth Bank.

	Contributed to defining the organisation wide ITIL based Service Delivery Framework

	Led a portfolio of small to medium size projects with a peak team size of 100

Program Manager

	Led a technology upgrade of Standard Chartered Bank’s payment internet channel with peak team size of 35 and a budget of $1.4 million 

	Recruited and trained 100+ professionals to deliver Standard Chartered Bank’s ambitious hi-tech projects

Senior Project Manager

iNautix Technologies

	Led multiple projects in stock trading back office for its parent companies (Credit Suisse First Boston, Pershing, Bank of New York)
	Led the setup of first global delivery team for Bank of New York at iNautix India

Project Lead and Consultant

Top-Ranked Australian Career Coach | Helped 100+ Senior IT Pros Land $200K–$400K+ Roles | 2–4 Level Jumps. 30%–120% Raises. | Take the 3-Min Quiz & Uncover Your Hidden Growth Blockers

You crushed the first half of your career (15–20 years).
You learned, progressed, got recognised.

Then the game changed.
You entered the second half, expecting momentum to continue.
Instead, you hit a wall:

➞ The next level feels out of reach
➞ Offers are lower than last year
➞ Even a like-for-like move is harder

What’s going on?

No one told you the second-half rules are different.
The 2010 playbook is outdated for 2025 and beyond.

So despite real credibility, you feel stuck.
Underpaid. Undervalued. Invisible.
Wondering, “Is this as far as I can go?”

I have been there.
22 years in IT. Leadership roles. $100M delivered.
Still hit a wall.

So I built the playbook I wish I’d had.

Fast forward 4 years:

120+ senior IT professionals have used my Value Amplifier Method™ to reach goals they thought were out of reach:

🚀 Tym, Senior Director: 18 months jobless → 2 offers over $300K in 8 weeks
🚀 Alka, Cyber Analyst: Burnt out → Big4 Director in 7 months; global thought leader in 12
🚀 Seema, IT PM: 11-year plateau → $100K raise and a career comeback
🚀 Urvish, S/W Engineer: Laid off → Senior Principal in 10 weeks. Director in 12 months

What changes with the Value Amplifier Method™?

➞ Raise your market value by 30%+ without new skills or certificates
➞ Repackage first-half wins to land bigger roles at the right companies

The 3 pillars:

1. Clarity - Focus where you’re premium, not replaceable
2. Communication - Tell a proof-first story leaders can’t ignore
3. Connection -  Build trusted access to decision-makers before jobs go public

You don’t need to be loud or extroverted. 
This works for introverts, migrants, late bloomers, and quiet high performers.

Worried the next year will look like the last?

Start by getting clear on what’s really holding you back.

Take the Growth Readiness Quiz — 1,200+ IT leaders already have.

- It's 100% free
- Takes just 2 minutes
- Get instant recommendations

👉 careerly360.scoreapp.com
.

Ehsan Ali

12 “Lazy” Habits That Skyrocket Your Career 
(While Others Grind) 

It took me 25 years to learn this.
You’ll get it in 5 minutes.

High achievers don’t hustle harder.
They win by working smarter. 
Quietly. Deliberately. Consistently.

While others grind for hours...
They use these “lazy” habits to create leverage and rise.

1. The "Minimum Effective Dose" Rule

→ Do less, but better.
→ Focus on the 20% that drives 80% of results.

2. The "Effortless Influence" Technique

→ Solve high-value problems quietly.
→ Let the right people see, without bragging.

3. The "Career Arbitrage" Strategy

→ Spot industry shifts before others do. 
→ Move where demand is high and competition low.

4. Cross-Pollination Mastery

→ Blend skills across domains.
→ That’s how you go from replaceable to rare.

5. The "Lazy" Networking Formula

→ Skip events. Master meaningful digital outreach.
→ Build deep trust without leaving your desk.

6. 10-Minute Power Planning

→ End each day by mapping tomorrow.
→ Start with clarity. Execute with intent.

7. The "High-Leverage Focus" Rule

→ Say no to low-impact work. 
→ Prioritize tasks that compound your value.

8. The "Lazy" Leadership Hack

→ You don’t need to dominate meetings.
→ Lead with one smart question. Let it ripple.

9. The "Swipe File" Hack

→ Save winning templates, responses, assets.
→ Repurpose fast. Deliver smarter.

10. Automate or Eliminate

→ If it’s repeatable, automate it.
→ If it’s not valuable, eliminate it.

11. The 2-Minute Rule

→ Do it now if it takes under 2 minutes.
→ Prevent tiny tasks from piling up.

12. The Power of ‘No’

→ Your time is your edge.
→ Protect it like your career depends on it. Because it does.


Hard work isn’t the secret. Smart work is.

Which one are you already using?
Which one will you try next?

♻️ Repost to help someone break free from the grind
🔔 Follow Ehsan Ali for career success, without selling your soul.

Career Strategist for Indian-Origin Senior IT Professionals | $250K–$400K+ Tech Leadership Roles | 120+ Breakthroughs | Value Amplifier Method™

12 Lazy Habits That Skyrocket Your Career

* TRUTH BOMB *

Age 40–60 is the prime career time.

You’ve seen patterns.
Made hard calls.
You know what actually works.

Yet most careers stagnate quietly by 40.

Not because experience expires.
But because ambition gets trained out.

Nobody starts a long career aiming for average.

Yet most accept it.

They don’t fail.
They adjust expectations.

They stop asking hard questions.
They start explaining things away.

“Market is tough.”
“Ageism is real.”
“I should be grateful.”

After speaking with 2,000+ professionals
and helping 140+ rebuild their careers,
here’s the truth:

It’s not talent.
It’s conditioning.

Be reliable.
Wait your turn.
Don’t rock the boat.

That’s what slowly stagnates careers.

The ones who break through at 45, 50, 60
aren’t louder or luckier.

They choose strategy. 
Early.

If you’ve spent 15+ years in IT, delivered complex programs, and still feel underutilised, this is for you.

This month only, I’m sharing the same growth strategies my mid–senior IT clients pay $2,500+ per month for.

3 closed-door, small-group roundtables.
Free. By invitation only.

If your career feels slower than your potential,
DM me ROUNDTABLE.

♻️ Repost this for someone with decades left.
🔔 Follow me for strategic senior IT career frameworks.

7 Things Your Boss Needs to Hear If You Want to Grow

Your boss doesn’t promote the hardest worker.
They promote the one they see as a leader.

And leadership?
It’s not just in what you do.
It’s in what you say.

After 20 years in IT and coaching, I’ve seen it all:
Talented pros left invisible.
Smart players passed over.
Leaders-in-waiting ignored.

Not because they lacked skills.
But because they stayed silent.

If you want your boss to notice you, start here:

1️⃣ “I have a suggestion to improve X.”
Leaders show vision, not just execution. Elevate.

2️⃣ “I’d like to take on more.”
Ambition speaks louder when paired with a plan.

3️⃣ “I made a mistake.”
Trust grows when honesty comes before excuses.

4️⃣ “I need help with…”
Strength isn’t silence. It’s seeking growth with solutions in hand.

5️⃣ “Thank you for trusting me with this.”
Gratitude builds loyalty more than results alone.

6️⃣ “Can we discuss my career goals?”
No one will own your future if you don’t.

7️⃣ “Can you give me feedback?”
The fastest growth comes from listening.

These aren’t just words.
They’re signals that tell your boss: I’m ready for more.

Which of these have you said out loud this year?
And which one still feels hardest to bring up?

I’ll be unpacking how and when to have these conversations in a small career roundtable this month.
DM ROUNDTABLE to join. Spots are limited.

♻ Share this to help a corporate buddy rise
➕ Follow me(Ehsan Ali) for real IT career moves, no generic fluff

7 Conversations That Get You Seen as a Leader

If you’re a 40-year-old IT professional,
You likely have 20+ years of career left.

Pause on that!

If you already feel stuck or under-recognised today,
What do you think the next 20 years would look like?

Staying in roles that don’t stretch you.
Hoping restructures don’t touch you.
Accepting work below your capability.

And if you’re laid off?

Update the CV.
Apply.
Wait.
Hear nothing.
Repeat.

How many times will you repeat that cycle
over the next 20 years?

That’s not a career.
That’s survival.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth:

Most professionals don’t get stuck because they lack talent.
They get stuck because they stop believing more is possible.

“I don’t know if I still have what it takes.”
“I didn’t keep up with the market.”
“I should be grateful.”
“I don’t want to rock the boat.”

Those quiet self-talks end more careers than failure ever will.

Most people wait for the market, their boss, or the next restructure
to decide their future.

What if instead, you took control?

Designed the next 20 years on your terms.
Built recognition, income, and titles intentionally.

That’s exactly what I’ll unpack in a small, private roundtable this Saturday.

It’s a strategy I’ve refined over the last 4 years,
and the same one my clients used to create outcomes they once believed weren’t for them:

• $200K → $650K+
• Engineer → Director (3-level jump)
• 18 months jobless → two $300K+ offers in 10 weeks
• Unknown → global Top 100 recognition

This isn’t for everyone.

It’s for senior IT professionals
who don’t want to spend the next 20 years in mediocrity and regrets.

If this felt uncomfortably familiar,
DM me ROUNDTABLE.

♻️ Repost this to help a senior IT professional who needs to read it
🔔 Follow me (Ehsan Ali) for real career strategy, not CV tips and generic advice

I’ve watched some of the most capable professionals in IT slowly switch off.

They didn’t struggle with the work.
They weren’t unskilled.
They just stopped being noticed.

Here’s the truth about leadership:
Appreciation isn’t about being nice.
It’s proof that you see effort.

It shows if their ideas and work matter, or if only results do.

Most leaders think:
"They’re paid. That’s enough."
Wrong.

When people feel unappreciated, they don’t complain.
They pull back.

They stop raising issues.
Stop volunteering solutions.
Stop owning outcomes beyond their role.

Work still gets done.
But leaders lose the energy, ideas, and loyalty that push teams forward.

Here’s what actually happens:

❎ Effort vanishes
❎ Feedback dries up
❎ Innovation stalls  
❎ Top performers quietly leave

This isn’t a people problem.
It’s a leadership failure.

Appreciation isn’t “good job” after it's done.
It’s noticing effort in the moment, not just after a win.

People who feel seen give more.
People who don’t… hold back.

Strong leaders don’t squeeze results.
They make people want to step up.

Question for leaders:
Do your people feel judged or truly seen?

♻️ Repost if someone on your team needs this.
🔔 Follow Ehsan Ali for leadership, career moves, and scaling teams that actually work.

If you’re struggling to move to the next level in your career,
You already know this:

✅ Job boards don’t work
✅ The best roles go to people already in the circle

So you try to “network.”

But it feels off.
You sound like a job beggar.
They ghost you.
You start doubting yourself.

Then what?

You pull back.
Tweak the resume.
Update LinkedIn.
Apply again.
Even though you know it won’t work.

Meanwhile, your confidence fades.

Here’s the truth no one teaches you:

💥 It’s not your experience.
💥 It’s not your resume.
💥 It’s your conversation strategy.

Because at $250K–$400K+?

You don’t chase roles.
You build trust first.
You get invited in.
You shape offers around your value.

That’s why these private conversations matter.

They’re not casual chats.
They’re strategic career moves.

Top performers use them to:
– Unlock unlisted roles
– Build trust with decision-makers
– Get pulled into opportunities before they’re public

If you’re not having these conversations,
You’re not “early.”
You’re invisible.

That’s exactly what we break down inside my private senior-level roundtable.

Real scenarios.
Real conversations.

You’re not learning in isolation.
You’re pressure-testing your thinking with peers who already operate at this level, and seeing where your approach breaks.

No theory.
Just honest calibration on how these conversations actually land.

DM “ROUNDTABLE”
This is where stalled senior careers get unstuck.

♻️ Repost this if someone you know is stuck in job-board limbo
🔔 Follow Ehsan Ali for $250K–$400K+ career plays that actually work

Resumes Don't Open Doors. These 7 Conversations Do

You didn’t hit your 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠.
You learned to 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐞 under it.

I’ve seen this with 𝟐,𝟎𝟎𝟎+ 𝐦𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐓 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬.

Not because you lack talent.
Not because you didn’t work hard.
But because you adapted.

To safe roles.
To being “reliable”.
To what felt realistic.

So when you speak to me, you say:

“I’m probably too late.”
“It won’t work in my market.”
“I’ve already tried everything.”

I’ve heard this from:
• An architect 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐭 $𝟐𝟎𝟎𝐊
• A senior director 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝟏𝟖 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬
• An analytics and AI pro 𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐞

And yet:

• $200K → $𝟔𝟓𝟎𝐊+
• 18 months jobless → two $𝟑𝟎𝟎𝐊 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐬 in 10 weeks
• Invisible → Global 𝐓𝐨𝐩 𝟏𝟎𝟎 thought leader

Same people.
Same markets.
Different approach.

Here’s the 𝟓-𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬s I use to take clients from 

“𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞”
to 
“𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐈 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐟.”
1️⃣ Career ≠ job
2️⃣ See your real power
3️⃣ Package your experience
4️⃣ Tell your story properly
5️⃣ Network like a pro
I break each step down in the carousel. 👉

♻️ Repost this if you know someone who’s too experienced to feel stuck.
🔔 Follow me (Ehsan Ali) for frameworks that make senior career moves strategic, not lucky.

The 5-Step Method I Use to Accelerate Career Growth

Nobody tells senior IT professionals this:
Being “reliable” is often why your career stagnates.

Not early on.
Later, when the stakes are higher.

You do everything right.

You deliver.
You clean up messes.
You don’t complain.

You become the person leaders depend on.

And then something strange happens.

You stop moving.

Same-level roles.
Same pay bands.
Same conversations.

Meanwhile, people with less experience leapfrog you.

And you’re left wondering:

“What am I missing?”
“Why does this feel so hard now?”
“Why am I stuck when I’m clearly good?”

Here’s the uncomfortable truth most won’t say out loud:

At senior levels, reliability is assumed.

Everyone works hard.
Everyone delivers.
Everyone is capable.

What actually separates progression from stagnation isn’t effort.

It’s a decision trust.

Who leaders trust to:
• shape direction
• simplify complexity
• influence outcomes before execution begins

Most careers stall because people keep optimising for delivery,
long after delivery stopped being the differentiator.

Nothing is wrong with you.

You’re just playing the game that used to work.

I broke this down in today’s carousel:
5 signs being “reliable” is holding your career back.

If it felt uncomfortably accurate,
that’s not a coincidence.

♻️ Repost if someone you know is too experienced to still feel stuck.
🔔 Follow me, Ehsan Ali, for senior IT career moves that are strategic, not lucky.

5 Signs Reliability is Holding Your Career Back

Today’s private career roundtable confirmed something uncomfortable.

Most senior IT professionals are not steering their careers.

They’re being steered.

By their boss.
By restructures.
By whatever role shows up next.

It feels safe.
It feels responsible.
It quietly limits what’s possible.

Careers don’t collapse at senior levels.
They drift.

Not because people lack talent.
But because no one taught them how to design a career on purpose.

That drift compounds.
Over 20, 30, 40 years.

In income.
In options.
In confidence.

I’m opening two final private roundtable sessions
(Thursday and Saturday).

After that, no more free sessions.
No more 2026 career planning rounds.

If you’re a senior IT professional and If this resonated, check the registration link in the comments.

♻️ Repost to help a senior IT professional who might need this perspective.

This is not a webinar.
And it’s not for everyone.

Most senior IT professionals aren’t stuck because they lack skill.
They’re stuck because they’re using rules that no longer work.

I’m hosting a private, closed-door virtual roundtable where I’ll walk through the proven framework I’ve used for the last 4 years with my clients.

The same framework that has helped them create results they once thought were impossible:

 → $200K to $650K+ career moves
 → 18 months jobless → two $300K+ offers in 10 weeks
 → Invisible professionals → recognised global Top 100 thought leaders

What we’ll reframe:
 → Why being “reliable” quietly caps senior careers
 → Why CV tweaks, mass applications, and referrals fail at this level
 → How to reposition your LinkedIn in 15 minutes so better roles find you

Small group. Real discussion. Live Q&A.
No replay. Limited seats.

If you’re ready to change how you play the game for the next 20 years of your career, this will be valuable.

👉 Register only if you’re serious.

View event: Private Virtual Roundtable for Senior IT Pros (limited seats. no replay) 

Private Virtual Roundtable for Senior IT Pros (limited seats. no replay) 

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The Battle

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